The Schweizer chichen is a breed

Breed

A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...

 of chicken

Chicken

The chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...

 originating in Amriswil

Amriswil

Amriswil is a municipality in Arbon District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland.-History:Amriswil is first mentioned in 799 as Amalgeriswilare. During the Middle Ages Amriswil and Brüschwil were part of a Bishop's fief. During the 15th Century, the Helmsdorf family ruled in Eppishausen...

, Kanton Thurgau, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

. It is kept mainly in German-speaking areas of Switzerland, and its name is literally German for "Swiss chicken".

Origin

Alfred Weiss started to hybridize various chicken breeds, mainly Orpington

Orpington (chicken)

The Orpington is a breed of chicken named after Orpington, England, which was made famous in part by this breed. Belonging to the English class of chickens, it was bred to be an excellent layer with good meat quality...

 and Wyandotte

Wyandotte (chicken)

The Wyandotte is a breed of chicken originating in the United States. The first examples of the breed appeared in 1870s. Wyandottes are a docile, dual-purpose breed kept for their brown eggs and for meat. They appear in a wide variety of color patterns, and are popular show birds. The Wyandotte...

. The breed standard was developed in 1910 and a local breed association has been established. However, since the end of the Second World War, the breed has become less popular due to agricultural industralisation.

Description

The roosters weigh 2.8-3.5 kg and the hens from 2.4-2.8 kg. The hens are nonsitters, producing 170-200 white eggs per year of around 55 g weight each.